How to Draw A Cartoon Iguana

Learn how to draw a fun cartoon iguana using this accessible drawing lesson. You will learn how to add simple effects to a character made from simple lines and create a beautiful and effective cartoon illustration like the one shown below. Ready? Let's proceed with the first step.

Step 1

First, you can start by adding simple curved and straight lines to create the iguana. These outlines can be filled with colors, but you can also wait later on to make sure you are using colors that are similar with the ones used inside the character.

It can also be a good idea to use outlines with pointed ends to create an illustration that is visually more interesting and diversified.

Step 2

Next, you can draw new shapes filled with plain colors behind the outlines as shown below. I like to keep the plain colors and outlines separated to enjoy more flexibility. The body of the animal can be green while the pupil is black and the eye is brown. Spines on the back are filled with a light red color.

Step 3

In this step, you can use the gradient fill tool to add a second color to the body. In this case, a darker green color can be added to create some shadows and more depth. You can repeat the same technique on the spines using a darker red color on the bottom of these elements.

Step 4

Next, add new shapes filled with dark green colors to create new shadows on the iguana. These new elements are shown with pink outlines for readability purposes only.

Step 5

These new elements must be slightly transparent to create a subtle effect. If these shadows are too dark, then the result can be difficult to read or too distracting. This is the result once all shadows are partially hidden.

Step 6

Now that we have created darker shapes to create shadows, let's draw brighter ones to illustrate highlights. Once again, these new elements are shown with pink and blue outlines for readability purposes only. These new shapes are located on areas that are exposed to lighting.

Nice work creating a cool cartoon iguana like the one below!

Great! This is the result once all effects are added. As you can see, these simple techniques can be used on several animals, characters or objects to create fun illustrations that are visually appealing. I hope you had fun working on this cute iguana and don't hesitate to try more tutorials from the same series. :)